KEEPING SEVERAL CHARACTERS STRAIGHT

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

Every once in a while I'll be reading a new book or series and suddenly realize I can't keep the characters clearly defined in my own mind.

Once I went back with a tablet and wrote the characters' names and jobs.

Do you ever find it difficult to keep the characters straight? Does it matter very much?

Or perhaps you just read it as new dialogue?

spumoni99 · ‎02-16-2019

Yes I have that problem sometimes also, writing them is a good idea.

jlkz · ‎12-02-2013

@Tinkrbl44

I just finished a mystery book by K. Unger ( The Red Hunter ) which had two women with vastly different backgrounds and each with several important characters and family members. Their paths were eventually going to cross at the end.

The problem arose with how the author kept switching from one side to another, as well as switching from the Past to the Present. Confusing unnecessarily.

This one goes into the " X " column of my books read. Don't bother for other readers and possibly don't bother if she writes another one....or at least be prepared to stop reading it.

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.
Sir Winston Churchill

PA Mom-mom · ‎05-27-2015

@Tinkrbl44 Yes. Especially when reading Dickens.

BlueFinch · ‎08-31-2019

Yep, call me confused, when I'm reading a novel that bounces back and forth between different time frames. Each with it's own full cast of characters.

So many novels are being written this way now. It's almost like two books in one.

I always read reviews now. If this is discussed, I'll avoid the read. I want my reading to be pleasurable, not a test.

Desertdi · ‎03-13-2010

I also write the names of multiple characters down on an index card and use it as a bookmark.

♥Surface of the Sun♥

AngelPuppy1 · ‎03-13-2010

I don't like when at the very start of a book, there are many, many characters. I think - are some of these important and do I need to remember them as they might really have a lot of bearing on the book - or - do I not need to care about them? Also, when books go back and forth from the present to the past and a lot of characters are talked about, this is a lot to remember. I have found myself going back in the book and searching names out, etc. The idea of writing the names, etc. down on a card and using it as a bookmark is a great idea.

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin

LindaSal · ‎05-15-2014

Yes this happens to me also. I don't even read difficult to follow books! Characters can get confusing and many times I find myself having to look back to refresh my memory of what I've already read! DH usually has 3 books going at once, I just don't know how he does it.